Apella Capital LLC Buys 151 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Apella Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,259 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $139.49 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $134.54 and a 200-day moving average of $126.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.38. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $142.20.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KMB shares. Bank of America raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.31.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Doug Cunningham sold 3,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.82, for a total transaction of $524,431.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Doug Cunningham sold 3,833 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.82, for a total value of $524,431.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,050.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,395 shares of company stock worth $3,332,776. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company's Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.